


Making Assumptions

by wyvernlordminerva



Series: Rarepair Week 2k17 [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Bugs, But not quite, Laslow is a bit of a furry tbh, M/M, a beauty and the beast au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-01 08:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10185119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyvernlordminerva/pseuds/wyvernlordminerva
Summary: You know what they say about assuming things...





	

**Author's Note:**

> ironically i did not go for flirt. instead, i picked gross. because keaton

Everyone had heard the stories of the selfish prince who had wronged a witch and had subsequently been turned into a monster as hideous as his personality. Over the years, it had even become a popular children’s tale to encourage them not to act out. Few knew, however, that the legend was quite true, including Laslow. 

He had stumbled upon a castle in the woods just wandering one day, and curious, snuck inside to explore. The interior was a destroyed as you’d expect an old castle to be, but the claw marks were a bit disconcerting. Oh, and the half-eaten deer carcasses. That and the horrid smell was enough to make Laslow want to leave as soon as possible.

And, of course, a snarling set of fangs had to be waiting behind him.

He wanted to scream at the sight of the horrid beast, leering over him with piercing eyes and sickening, warm breath. Instead, he found himself unable to move as the monster leaned closer to him and sniffed. And sniffed again.

_ “You smell nice,”  _ a voice spoke, startling and otherworldly. It took Laslow a moment to realize it was the beast talking to him.

“U-uh,” he stammered out, unsure what to do. The beast softly nudged his stomach with his nose, and Laslow found himself reaching out and feeling the strange mix of leather and fur, against his better judgement.

_ “I’m Keaton!”  _ the beast said,  _ “What’s your name?” _

Thus was the start of a very odd relationship, one that usually ended with Laslow covered in beast slobber.

Certainly, he had never asked about Keaton’s prince status, seeing as it might bring up bad memories and Laslow kind of knew the answer, anyway. But he did have his… questions. Namely, hygiene. Sure, Keaton was a beast now, but he had been a noble once, right? Surely, he’d at least have the manners not to leave his food rotting on the floor. 

And oh gods, the  _ bugs _ . Laslow had always hated bugs, and they just so happened to be crawling on every inch of the castle. That wasn’t the major problem, though. No, the major problem was when Keaton found one he liked, and would decide to share his discovery with Laslow. Like now.

_ “Check out this spider!” _ Keaton shouted, interrupting Laslow’s daily cleaning routine. He had only a moment to turn around, only to find a massive, ugly spider being shoved in his face.  _ “Isn’t it cool?” _

Laslow resisted the urge to be sick. He hated how used to this he was becoming.

“Not in the slightest,” he replied, grimacing. Keaton pouted, however monsters did that.

_ “What? Really?” _ He thought for a moment.  _ “Hang on, I have something you might like-” _

“No, thank you, Keaton,” Laslow rushed out, planning an escape route. “I’m quite fine, thank you for the consideration!”

_ “But you haven’t even-” _

“Oh, sounds like someone’s at the door! You should stay here.” And with the weakest excuse he had ever come up with, Laslow was gone. Keaton frowned, considering his strange behavior. Why wouldn’t he accept his gifts? Okay, maybe they weren’t the best spiders, but they’re pretty good for something laying around the castle. 

Maybe, he just needed to get a bit closer with them. At least, that was the logic he used later that day when he dumped the spider down Laslow’s shirt.

Ah, he screamed in delight! Keaton knew he’d like it.

“ _Keaton!_ ” Laslow screeched, face an impressive shade of red as he ran his hands over his clothes to try and remove the “gift.” Keaton couldn’t help but laugh. 

“You think this is  _ funny? _ ” Laslow said, voice going dangerously low. Keaton stilled. Whoops. “You…  _ you _ ...”

For a moment, Laslow looked like he was about to pass out. Then, he exploded.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” he shouted. Keaton’s ears pressed against his head as he cowered slightly. “You know I hate bugs. You  _ know. _ I can’t believe this!” Laslow was shaking with anger. “Cursed or not, you are by far the most disgusting, improper prince I’ve ever seen! You’re… you’re  _ gross! _ ”

Laslow huffed, having finally gotten it out of his system. Keaton stared in confusion.

“ _ Wait... _ ” he said, “ _ You were talking about me? _ ”

“What? Of course I was talking about you!” Laslow said. “There’s no one else in here.”

“ _ But I’m not a prince, _ ” Keaton said.

Laslow blinked. And blinked again.

“But you’re a beast,” he said.

“ _ Yeah. _ ”

“And you live in this castle,” he said.

“ _ Yep. _ ”

“The castle where a prince was cursed into a beast.” Keaton shook his head.

“ _ I don’t really know what you’re talking about, _ ” he admitted. “ _ I moved in here like, four months ago. _ ”

Laslow was silent for a moment.

“What happened to the real prince, then?” he asked.

“ _ I dunno, _ ” Keaton shrugged. “ _ Probably left. This place kind of sucks. _ ”  _ Because you don’t clean after yourself,  _ Laslow responded mentally, but found himself unable to respond properly.

“Huh,” he managed after a few moments. Suddenly, Keaton started laughing.

“ _ Y-you thought I was a prince? _ ” he said between breaths. Laslow’s face went red again, this time in embarrassment. 

“H-hey, don’t laugh!” he stuttered out. “All things considered, it was a perfectly reasonable assumption to make!”

“ _ So did you decide that before or after I dragged a bear in the front door? _ ”

“I just thought…! Stop it!” Laslow buried his face in his hands. “I still haven’t forgiven you for throwing bugs at me!”

“ _ But I thought you would like it! _ ” Keaton said. “ _ You always look really cute when you’re screaming your head off! _ ”

“There are other ways to do that, you know!” Laslow said, not entirely thinking out the implications of his statement. Keaton gave him a look. “Don’t  _ stare!  _ Oh gods...”

Keaton found he liked that expression even better on Laslow’s face.


End file.
